I am a 81 year old widower trying for the first time growing simple vegetation using the non-circulating hydroponic method. I randomly found your videos and thoroughly enjoyed them. Let me congratulate you, your videos are very well done and you speak clearly and it's easy to understand especially for my french ears. Thanks for your dedication and keep up the good work.
Hello sir, I just wanted to congratulate you for surviving 80+ years in this crazy world of ours. I was wondering how your gardening is going. I hope this message finds you in good health 🙏
Thank You. for a great and very simple direct way of explanation which is easy to understand and gain knowledge from which I deeply appreciate.. As a separate though, I highly recommend that others on UA-cam should follow you method as in about 30 seconds into there presentation they get a big thumbs down ! as it appears they are not well organized or versed on the subject and spend most of the time babbling
I am a returning viewer getting a reminder of what an excellent demonstrater you are. About to set up this again and getting refreshed, so to speak. And YES I can smell the Basil :-).
@Tikki O. I have wanted to get into Hydroponics for quite sometime but thought it was too complicated. After doing much research I came across your channel about the Mason jars. I have to say, I watched at least a hundred videos on YT, and your channel by far is the most concise, and articulate, and you have the easiest to follow complete instructions. I received my supplies yesterday, and I am trying my hand at hydroponics this AM, thanks to you. After a quick review of your videos as a refresher course, I am feeling pretty good. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with the rest of us, and making it so simple. Happy Hydro Growing.
Thanks Asher....I am trying/experimenting as well! The mason jars work very nicely for lettuce, parsley, basil, kale, but not as well for tomatoes and cucumbers. Good luck with your journey!
Excellent, it is a learning process so don't give up and try different plants and herbs. Lettuce is easy, broccoli microgreens also sprouts...give it a go and good luck!
As you ask for discussion: I grow soilbased basil by taking cuttings. I highly recommend taking cuttings and not growing basil from seed. Just buy one supermarket plant, take cuttings and use the rest for a nice pesto. It will save you 3 or more weeks in the process and gives fadt results. If anyone wants to start soilbased basil Gardening at 58 North has a highly informative video about infinite basil.
You are a wealth of information and do such a good job presenting and editing your videos. I can tell they take a lot of time. God bless! I am going to try hydroponic Kratky method. going to try lettuce first. thanks.
Hi Tikki. I love your videos on hydroponics and I’ve started Kratky basil and lettuce and so far so good. My only problem is that all one quart mason jars everywhere were sold out. Therefore I’ve been using pint size. This means I need to add fluid . When you add to your jars you mention “ add water”. Do you really add plain water or do you add more of the same nutrient solution you are using? I’ve searched the internet and I can’t seem to find an answer. Logic tells me that since the plant is using nutrients I need to add nutrient “ water” ? . Also do you ever dump the residual solution from the plant and give it fresh solution to the correct level... That would get rid of any by-products the plant is trying to get rid of ??
I love your videos Tikki! You present them so well and give lots of info. Your thoughtful experiments are great too. I am trying Kratky after seeing some of your videos and also bought an AeroGarden. Thanks for all the wonderful videos!
80% of youtubers say a lot of unnecessary words such an impression that there is no one to listen to them!))) But not you! Great ! What a video editor do you use?
Do the roots need to be “flushed”? When re-filling the jar with water, do you use nutrient or plain water? I am very excited to try this method indoors!
Hi Tikki, great videos. I have been watching your videos and just started lettuce from seedling too. Now I like to try basil from seeds, do you have to keep the seeds covered and in the dark to germinate? Is it a general rule that seeds must be covered (no light) while germinating?
Hi Tikki. Thanks for another great video. I was wondering if you've ever tried moving plants grown in the Kratky method out into the garden? I have some rosemary and thyme plants that I started a month ago using the Kratky method, and since I usually lose my outdoor rosemary over the winter, I am thinking I might try to transplant one of my indoor plants outdoors in spring. Would be interested in your thoughts/experience.
Yes Sandra, I started my tomato plants indoors using Kratky, then moved them outdoors into the soil once the summer began. I got a beautiful crop of tomatoes by getting an early start indoors.
I love your videos. What happened to that little basil that looked kind of poorly? I was hoping it would come around. I guess it didn't. Keep up the good work, your videos are very helpful.
I sand my mason jars so the paint will stick to the jars. I also painted them black but now I can’t see the water level. Another You-tuber suggested using masking tape to have a little stripe down the side. Just remove the tape when you need to check the water level. Next time I will have a stripe. I thought the aluminum foil would be too expensive.
I'd like to buy locally if possible but there are different types of the grow big formula. the amazon one is 3-2-6. is that specifically the one I need?
I want to try transplanted basil kratky method . What is the nutrient ratio? Your video says 2-2-1 for seedlings. I’ve tried 5-5-2 & 6-6-3 with MB & Big Grow 2 tsp/ gal. Your thoughts?
The reason pruning makes plants bushier is because the stemcells required to grow are in the tip and in the places they branch off, their armpits so to speak. So pruning just above where it made leaves or where it makes branches causes them to attempt to make more branches cause it can no longer grow from those tips. Just in case you were wondering why that's a thing. A similar thing is going on in the roots but well.. who prunes roots?
Hi Roger, most of my jars are 32 ounces, which is a quart. I don't know what measuring system you use, you can probably google the equivalent. Enjoy going into summer....we could use that here!
@Tikki O after transferred to mason how would you go about the light? Can they be put outside and received sun light or you think is better to received partial sun light? Or placing them in the windows edges?
Hi fabrizio, basil needs 6-8 hours of sun, so I guess it can have some shade some of the time. I find that plants can adapt, so although they may grow bushier in ideal conditions, they will still grow in less than ideal conditions, just not as full. Try planting in partial sun, and see what happens. I have mine under grow lights and near a window, the basil has been growing and growing and growing...and I have replanted cuttings from it into soil multiple times. The plant just keeps on giving!
Hi Don, I have a basil plant in a soil container that I just keep pruning and using the leaves for over a year, the Kratky one on the video I forgot to prune and it went to seed...but I have newer ones I started and they are doing fine as long as I keep pruning they keep putting out more branches.
I tried this method but used coffee cans...not jars. The roots turned brown and the plants died....was it the can? I followed directions in each step and the only difference was the container. I even purchased a grow light for them. They all had a good root system, I didn't over water them but made sure the solution was just to the bottom of the basket. I really want to use this method of growing but failure is holding me back!
Tikki hello. Thank you for one more amazing movie. I hope you enjoyed your two weeks vacation. Respectfully i would like to bring two facts to your attention. One is that your basil desperately seeking for light. That’s why the distance between the leaves is so big and the empty parts on the stalk (between sets of leaves) is so long. The pruning has to be done just a little-bit above the set of leaves. Because the new shoot will be created there. It never does in the middle. So right light and right pruning r the key to the bushy basil. And I have a question as well. Do you ever take the basil out and wash the jars to fill them again with the solution? And if yes, how often?
You are correct on both points, thank you! In spite of that, the basil is delicious, so although I made mistakes (I ran out of area under my grow lights, and the pruning.....well no excuse for that one....) Its amazing how forgiving the plants are, they just want to grow....I do wash out the jars and reuse for a new cycle of plants, but for the same plant I don't wash it out, I just add more hydroponic solution when the water level is low....eventually the plant runs its course. I have had success planting the pruned branches, and so I will restart the process that way. But while the original plant is growing I don't take it out to wash out the container, I just keep adding to it. Thank you for your suggestions, I appreciate it!
Could be another technique, but with the Kratky method for leafy greens you don't do anything until the water is down to around a quarter left, then add, but make sure you don't go too high or you will submerge the air roots and drown the plants. I grow lettuce this way as well, and I harvest the plant at about 5 weeks, so I never touch the jar once I have it set up You can actually see the air roots, they look a bit different. Google Kratky and read up, its great since you don't need to use an air pump like with the Aerogarden or DWC methods. I'm still learning and experimenting, but even with mistakes I have very good harvests! Like Nike says....Just Do it!
I’m learning too. Started about three months ago. Until then I was growing only in soil in my garden. Now that you told me that there is no need to change the solution every week, I love hydroponic system even more 😂😂😂. The jar system is the only hydroponic system I can use as in my country the subject is still new and we don’t have any hydroponic devices for sale. I really love the way you explain things, Tikki, and learn a lot from you. Maybe that’s what makes your movies so understandable for me - the fact we r both on our beginning stage 😁.
If you have an air pump (like for a fish tank) and a plastic storage container, you can build an aeroponic/hydroponic system yourself. There are quite a few videos on UA-cam that show how to do it. We did it the "lazy" way and bought an Aerogarden, this worked really nicely for our indoor tomato plant and was a fun experience. Keep learning, and good luck to us both!
Mid Null, yes I cover the containers with paper sleeves, to me its better than painting since I can pull off the sleeve to check the water levels. Sometimes I use aluminum foil to wrap around the mason jars. Thanks for pointing this out and thanks for the comment!
I am a 81 year old widower trying for the first time growing simple vegetation using the non-circulating hydroponic method. I randomly found your videos and thoroughly enjoyed them.
Let me congratulate you, your videos are very well done and you speak clearly and it's easy to understand especially for my french ears. Thanks for your dedication and keep up the good work.
Thanks for the words of encouragement, I appreciate it!
Hello sir, I just wanted to congratulate you for surviving 80+ years in this crazy world of ours. I was wondering how your gardening is going. I hope this message finds you in good health 🙏
Thank You. for a great and very simple direct way of explanation which is easy to understand and gain knowledge from which I deeply appreciate..
As a separate though, I highly recommend that others on UA-cam should follow you method as in about 30 seconds into there presentation they get a big thumbs down ! as it appears they are not well organized or versed on the subject and spend most of the time babbling
Thank you so much for these clear, concise and thorough videos. Very well organized and presented!
I am a returning viewer getting a reminder of what an excellent demonstrater you are. About to set up this again and getting refreshed, so to speak. And YES I can smell the Basil :-).
@Tikki O. I have wanted to get into Hydroponics for quite sometime but thought it was too complicated. After doing much research I came across your channel about the Mason jars. I have to say, I watched at least a hundred videos on YT, and your channel by far is the most concise, and articulate, and you have the easiest to follow complete instructions. I received my supplies yesterday, and I am trying my hand at hydroponics this AM, thanks to you. After a quick review of your videos as a refresher course, I am feeling pretty good. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with the rest of us, and making it so simple. Happy Hydro Growing.
Thanks Asher....I am trying/experimenting as well! The mason jars work very nicely for lettuce, parsley, basil, kale, but not as well for tomatoes and cucumbers. Good luck with your journey!
thank you kratky mommy
thanks so much for your wonderful videos Tikki! We're finally starting our own journey, my wife and I want to grow our own food. Thanks!
Excellent, it is a learning process so don't give up and try different plants and herbs. Lettuce is easy, broccoli microgreens also sprouts...give it a go and good luck!
As you ask for discussion: I grow soilbased basil by taking cuttings. I highly recommend taking cuttings and not growing basil from seed. Just buy one supermarket plant, take cuttings and use the rest for a nice pesto. It will save you 3 or more weeks in the process and gives fadt results.
If anyone wants to start soilbased basil Gardening at 58 North has a highly informative video about infinite basil.
You are a wealth of information and do such a good job presenting and editing your videos. I can tell they take a lot of time. God bless! I am going to try hydroponic Kratky method. going to try lettuce first. thanks.
Hi Tikki. I love your videos on hydroponics and I’ve started Kratky basil and lettuce and so far so good. My only problem is that all one quart mason jars everywhere were sold out. Therefore I’ve been using pint size. This means I need to add fluid . When you add to your jars you mention “ add water”. Do you really add plain water or do you add more of the same nutrient solution you are using? I’ve searched the internet and I can’t seem to find an answer. Logic tells me that since the plant is using nutrients I need to add nutrient “ water” ? . Also do you ever dump the residual solution from the plant and give it fresh solution to the correct level... That would get rid of any by-products the plant is trying to get rid of ??
Great video! I have some rock wool and perilite and mason jars. Thank you so much. Peace and blessings 😃
This was awesome, thanks for sharing
I love your videos Tikki! You present them so well and give lots of info. Your thoughtful experiments are great too. I am trying Kratky after seeing some of your videos and also bought an AeroGarden. Thanks for all the wonderful videos!
Thanks Connie for your kind comment, I appreciate it. Good luck with your own journey!
80% of youtubers say a lot of unnecessary words such an impression that there is no one to listen to them!))) But not you!
Great ! What a video editor do you use?
Great idea!! And I love how on this one, you give explanations for everything you do! 👍
N
Hi friend. Do you have a video on growing cilantro and parsley? I'm curious about it. Thanks for your tutorials.
Very very informative video, thank you very much Tikki. Your channel is really helpful for new gardeners :)
Thanks eozen81, I appreciate the comment!
Do the roots need to be “flushed”? When re-filling the jar with water, do you use nutrient or plain water? I am very excited to try this method indoors!
Hi Tikki, great videos. I have been watching your videos and just started lettuce from seedling too. Now I like to try basil from seeds, do you have to keep the seeds covered and in the dark to germinate? Is it a general rule that seeds must be covered (no light) while germinating?
Thank you for the instructions :)
Thank you so much ! 😊
Thank you
Hi Tikki. Thanks for another great video. I was wondering if you've ever tried moving plants grown in the Kratky method out into the garden? I have some rosemary and thyme plants that I started a month ago using the Kratky method, and since I usually lose my outdoor rosemary over the winter, I am thinking I might try to transplant one of my indoor plants outdoors in spring. Would be interested in your thoughts/experience.
Yes Sandra, I started my tomato plants indoors using Kratky, then moved them outdoors into the soil once the summer began. I got a beautiful crop of tomatoes by getting an early start indoors.
Awesome informative video btw... Binge watching your other videos
Thank you Don, I appreciate that!
I love your videos. What happened to that little basil that looked kind of poorly? I was hoping it would come around. I guess it didn't. Keep up the good work, your videos are very helpful.
I have tons of basil since then. I keep taking cuttings and regrowing...basil really keeps on giving if you replant the cuttings.
Can you use the grow big nutrients for Aerogarden? Thanks 🙏 love all you videos.
I don't see why not, just mix it according to the directions. Good luck!
Can you paint the outside of the mason jars to keep the light out, maybe with black paint or some dark color?
Absolutely! Thanks for the suggestion!
@@TikkiOOO I make skirts for mine or use sleeves from old shirts (no sew!) as I can check the water levels and roots easier
I sand my mason jars so the paint will stick to the jars. I also painted them black but now I can’t see the water level. Another You-tuber suggested using masking tape to have a little stripe down the side. Just remove the tape when you need to check the water level. Next time I will have a stripe. I thought the aluminum foil would be too expensive.
Awesome
I'd like to buy locally if possible but there are different types of the grow big formula. the amazon one is 3-2-6. is that specifically the one I need?
I want to try transplanted basil kratky method . What is the nutrient ratio? Your video says 2-2-1 for seedlings. I’ve tried 5-5-2 & 6-6-3 with MB & Big Grow 2 tsp/ gal. Your thoughts?
Subscribed nice video
Eduardo, thank you! Much appreciated!
Is it possible to grow more than one seed per rockwool/jar. Or are the plants too thirsty then?!
The reason pruning makes plants bushier is because the stemcells required to grow are in the tip and in the places they branch off, their armpits so to speak.
So pruning just above where it made leaves or where it makes branches causes them to attempt to make more branches cause it can no longer grow from those tips.
Just in case you were wondering why that's a thing. A similar thing is going on in the roots but well.. who prunes roots?
Thank you! I did prune it, and it is much bushier now, and still producing nice leaves. I wonder how long it will keep producing.
Hello Tikki. I am in Australia. Not sure if are jars are the same size as yours. Can you please tell me the two sizes of jars you use? Thanks.
Hi Roger, most of my jars are 32 ounces, which is a quart. I don't know what measuring system you use, you can probably google the equivalent. Enjoy going into summer....we could use that here!
@@TikkiOOO Very hot and bushfires and drought conditions here at the moment! Thanks for the info.
@@rogercutler2033 what do you buy as hydro solution? In Australia also thank you.
You don’t need aeration ?
@Tikki O after transferred to mason how would you go about the light? Can they be put outside and received sun light or you think is better to received partial sun light? Or placing them in the windows edges?
Hi fabrizio, basil needs 6-8 hours of sun, so I guess it can have some shade some of the time. I find that plants can adapt, so although they may grow bushier in ideal conditions, they will still grow in less than ideal conditions, just not as full. Try planting in partial sun, and see what happens. I have mine under grow lights and near a window, the basil has been growing and growing and growing...and I have replanted cuttings from it into soil multiple times. The plant just keeps on giving!
Does the basil plant have a lifespan? or does it grow continuously even if some of the leaves are being harvested multiple times
Hi Don, I have a basil plant in a soil container that I just keep pruning and using the leaves for over a year, the Kratky one on the video I forgot to prune and it went to seed...but I have newer ones I started and they are doing fine as long as I keep pruning they keep putting out more branches.
@@TikkiOOO awesome! Ty
I tried this method but used coffee cans...not jars. The roots turned brown and the plants died....was it the can? I followed directions in each step and the only difference was the container. I even purchased a grow light for them. They all had a good root system, I didn't over water them but made sure the solution was just to the bottom of the basket. I really want to use this method of growing but failure is holding me back!
Sounds like your roots burned due to overfeeding either from your solution or from some remaining coffee in the can
Tikki hello. Thank you for one more amazing movie. I hope you enjoyed your two weeks vacation. Respectfully i would like to bring two facts to your attention. One is that your basil desperately seeking for light. That’s why the distance between the leaves is so big and the empty parts on the stalk (between sets of leaves) is so long. The pruning has to be done just a little-bit above the set of leaves. Because the new shoot will be created there. It never does in the middle. So right light and right pruning r the key to the bushy basil.
And I have a question as well. Do you ever take the basil out and wash the jars to fill them again with the solution? And if yes, how often?
You are correct on both points, thank you! In spite of that, the basil is delicious, so although I made mistakes (I ran out of area under my grow lights, and the pruning.....well no excuse for that one....) Its amazing how forgiving the plants are, they just want to grow....I do wash out the jars and reuse for a new cycle of plants, but for the same plant I don't wash it out, I just add more hydroponic solution when the water level is low....eventually the plant runs its course. I have had success planting the pruned branches, and so I will restart the process that way. But while the original plant is growing I don't take it out to wash out the container, I just keep adding to it. Thank you for your suggestions, I appreciate it!
I will do the same. Don’t know why I thought I’m suppose to change the solution and wash the jars every 7-10 days. Thanks Tkki. ❤️
Could be another technique, but with the Kratky method for leafy greens you don't do anything until the water is down to around a quarter left, then add, but make sure you don't go too high or you will submerge the air roots and drown the plants. I grow lettuce this way as well, and I harvest the plant at about 5 weeks, so I never touch the jar once I have it set up You can actually see the air roots, they look a bit different. Google Kratky and read up, its great since you don't need to use an air pump like with the Aerogarden or DWC methods. I'm still learning and experimenting, but even with mistakes I have very good harvests! Like Nike says....Just Do it!
I’m learning too. Started about three months ago. Until then I was growing only in soil in my garden. Now that you told me that there is no need to change the solution every week, I love hydroponic system even more 😂😂😂. The jar system is the only hydroponic system I can use as in my country the subject is still new and we don’t have any hydroponic devices for sale. I really love the way you explain things, Tikki, and learn a lot from you. Maybe that’s what makes your movies so understandable for me - the fact we r both on our beginning stage 😁.
If you have an air pump (like for a fish tank) and a plastic storage container, you can build an aeroponic/hydroponic system yourself. There are quite a few videos on UA-cam that show how to do it. We did it the "lazy" way and bought an Aerogarden, this worked really nicely for our indoor tomato plant and was a fun experience. Keep learning, and good luck to us both!
Need to pain over the clear containers otherwise algae will grow.
Mid Null, yes I cover the containers with paper sleeves, to me its better than painting since I can pull off the sleeve to check the water levels. Sometimes I use aluminum foil to wrap around the mason jars. Thanks for pointing this out and thanks for the comment!
The floating head is slightly scary, but man it has good tips.